His mother did not tell him...

[Ryno1]

Copperheads up differ somewhat in color by that I mainly mean some are darker then others. Don't know, maybe it's time of year. Anyway at times it's hard to tell the markings, and little ones (babies) look almost identical to what some people call hognose snakes. My rule kill em all and let the god lord and devil sortem out.

Now before I get blasted - if it's obviously what i call a garter snake or black snake it can live as long as it doesn't pop up two feet way and scare me. When a snake scares me, it's dead, kill first and ask questions as to pedigree later.

 

[BamaRob]

I have a healthy respect for snakes, but I don't fear them. Snakes are fairly common around home with an average of 2 or 3 encounters with poisonous snakes every year (usually cottonmouths around ponds/streams or copperheads in the hills, very seldom see a rattlesnake). Due to the outdoor activities that I choose to be involved with, I'm going to come across a few snakes.

So, rather than take the "kill first, ask questions later" approach that many take, I decided long ago to become familiar with the snakes in my area and be able to quickly identify them. Most of them I give a wide berth (especially the poisonous ones) and let them alone. Others I'll catch and keep in a glass terrarium with a locking lid for a few days before releasing them. This gives me an opportunity to educate my family on which ones are the bad ones.

Here are pictures of a couple of copperheads that I caught last summer (2004). Yes, that's right, I said caught. I do use the proper equipment when catching poisonous snakes and would never handle one with my hands (I don't trust my reflexes that much /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif). The top picutre was a pretty good sized one for my area; close to 4' long and thick bodied. The other one was smaller; around 2' long. Notice the difference in color. These were both caught within 20 miles of each other, but were markedly different in their coloration.

By the way, I'm the copyright holder on these photos, so there's no problem posting them here.

 

[ELMO67]

I don't think that I should have looked at those pictures, my wife might be in trouble some night soon when my snake dreams start again!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif :

 

[phxraptor]

BamaRob, letting poisonous snakes live only multiplies your chances of running into them again. Catching them over and over multiplies your chances of getting bit. I wish you luck with your snake adventures.